Media, ICPC strengthen partnership against maritime corruption

File photo: ICPC Headquarters, Abuja

The Media Anti-Corruption Initiative has forged a strategic partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to strengthen media-driven efforts to promote transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct in Nigeria.

The partnership was sealed last week when a seven-member MACI delegation, led by its National President, Mr Funso Olojo, paid a courtesy visit to the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Lagos Zonal Office of ICPC, Mr Chukwurah Alexander, in Lagos.

Receiving the delegation, Alexander described the media as a critical partner in the ICPC’s “public enlightenment and corruption-prevention mandate under Section 6 of the ICPC Act, 2000.”

Alexander commended MACI for its commitment to discouraging public participation in corrupt practices. He expressed optimism that stronger collaboration between the media and the ICPC would deepen public awareness and prevention efforts.

Speaking during the engagement, MACI National President, Olojo, reaffirmed the organisation’s determination to support the ICPC’s anti-corruption mandate through responsible and ethical journalism.

Olojo said citizens must be actively involved if Nigeria is to achieve the kind of society envisioned by its people. “If we must achieve the Nigeria of our dream, the people must be actively involved,” he said.

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He described the ICPC as a key coordinating institution within Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture, pledging MACI’s continued commitment to using the media to promote integrity, accountability, and responsible citizenship.

The meeting focused on developing a structured collaboration framework that would reposition the fight against corruption from a predominantly reactive approach to a more preventive and citizen-driven campaign.

Among the areas identified for collaboration are strengthening the strategic role of the media in anti-corruption advocacy and public reorientation, aligning media initiatives with the prevention-focused provisions of the ICPC mandate, and promoting global best practices in anti-corruption communication.

The stakeholders also discussed the need to distinguish between general information and actionable intelligence in investigative reporting, while promoting responsible reporting that can support legitimate anti-corruption investigations.

Other proposed areas of collaboration include ongoing training and capacity building for journalists on anti-corruption reporting, developing a framework for data sharing between the ICPC and MACI to support fact-based journalism, and organising joint mobile and community-targeted sensitisation campaigns.

MACI is a non-governmental organisation committed to promoting ethical journalism, accountability, and citizen participation in the fight against corruption.